Poly methylmethacrylate (PMMA) is a polymer widely used as a restorative dental material for complete and partial dentures and bridges. This polymer demonstrates a high affinity for colonization by pathogenic bacteria and fungi (Candida albicans) which are the etiologic agents of denture induced stomatitis and generalized oral stomatitis. Stomatitis is a chronic condition in large numbers of the partially edentulous population, and is particularly prevalent in debilitated patients, immunologically suppressed patients (consequent to chemotherapy or AIDS), or prosthesis wearers with altered salivary flow. Stomatitis appears to be a consequence of two interrelated events: microbial adhesion and number of viable C. albicans present at the denture surface. Our long range goal is to produce a surface modified PMMA which will affect both adhesion and viability of pathogenic microorganisms. The general strategy for postprocessing modification of PMMA is designed to alter surface chemical functionality without changing bulk mechanical or physical properties of the polymer. These new functional groups may then be able to interact with specific salivary molecules to form an altered adsorbed pellicle which may be designed to modulate adhesion or be microbicidal for selected pathogenic organisms. We propose that salivary histatin, a highly candidacidal protein, may effectively decrease the number of viable C. albicans when concentrated by immobilization at a denture surface. The goals of this preliminary study are therefore to 1) anionize the surface of PMMA by hydrolysis of surface ester groups and monitor these chemical changes by infrared spectroscopy, 2) quantitate adsorption of radiolabeled histatin 5 to derivitized PMMA, and 3) determine if immobilized histatin 5 modulates candidal binding to PMMA and whether it retains its candidacidal activity when adsorbed at the PMMA surface. This study, as intended by the Small Grant Program, will provide preliminary data about the feasibility of charge interactions as a method of salivary conditioning of denture surfaces, and determine whether these adsorbed proteins retain their biological activity.